Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/603

OREGON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES It was named on that account. Arthur Cleveland Bent, in his splendid series of bulletins of the U. S. National Museum, Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl, and similar titles, has painted a graphic picture of the tragedy of some of the most picturesque of our birds. Bulletin 130, pages 281 to 301, contains a fine account of Cygnus columbianus, the whistling swan, and Cygnus buccinator, the trumpeter swan, both of which use the western United States for winter range. The ruthless destruction of these birds has been without the slightest excuse. As Bent says, no opportunity has been neglected to kill these magnificent swans, by fair means or foul, until they have been sadly reduced in numbers and are now confined to certain favored localities. For letter about swans along Columbia River, see editorial page the Oregonian, May 4, 1927.

, Multnomah County. The origin of this name is obvious, but the compiler has been unable to find out by whom the name was applied. The island was charted by Wilkes in the atlas accompanying U. S. Exploring Expedition, volume XXIII, Hydrography, as Willow Island, but the name has not persisted. For editorial protest against changing the name of Swan Island, see the Oregonian, September 27, 1927. For similar editorial, ibid., November 2, 1939. Despite the fact that the land is no longer an island, the name Swan Island is firmly and affectionately fixed in the public mind.

, Umatilla County. Swart post office was established September 15, 1897, and was closed to Duncan on May 31, 1902. John H. Swart was postmaster all this time, and the office was named for his family. It was about seven miles south of Gibbon. The Swarts were well known in the Blue Mountain area, and several of the family were in the railroad service. Swan post office was established to serve people in the vicinity of the railroad spur which was installed on Meacham Creek to allow for the shipment of cordwood. At the time two of the Swart family were loading and shipping wood from this area.

, Jackson County. Swastika post office was in the extreme east part of the county, in the northeast part of township 38 south, range 4 east, at or near Deadwood. The office was established December 11, 1909, with Clayton E. Burton first of two postmasters. The office was discontinued September 15, 1912. The name of the office was derived from the stock brand of C. E. Burton, who branded his livestock with a swastika. It is apparent that the name Deadwood could not be used for this office because that name was already in use in Lane County for an office which was in service from 1884 to 1914. Hitler had not yet been heard of and there was no objection to the use of Swastika as a place name.

, Lane County. Sweet Creek rises in the Coast Range in the west part of the county and flows generally northward to join Siuslaw River near the locality called Point Terrace, a few miles down stream from Mapleton. The name of the stream came from one Sweet, a local resident of those parts, and was not applied because of any excellence of the water.

, Linn County. At the approach of spring in 1930 Oswald West applied his talents to the early history of Sweet Home. His kindly letter on the subject and an equally sympathetic editorial appear in the Oregonian for March 5 of that year. Both are well worth reading. Governor West says, and it has not been disputed, that an early name